Mixed Methods Research: A Guide to the Field

Vicki L. Plano Clark, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Quantitative and Mixed Methods Research Methodologies area of the University of Cincinnati’s School of Education. Her methodological scholarship aims to delineate useful designs for conducting mixed methods research, examine procedural issues associated with achieving meaningful integration within these designs, and consider larger questions about the personal, interpersonal, and social contexts for the adoption and use of mixed methods. She recently coauthored the book Mixed Methods Research: A Guide to the Field (2016; SAGE) with Nataliya V. Ivankova and has coauthored several books with John W. Creswell, including The Mixed Methods Reader (2008; SAGE) and Understanding Research: A Consumer’s Guide (2010, 2015; Pearson Education). She is a founding coeditor of the Mixed Methods Research Series (SAGE Publishing). She also currently serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Mixed Methods Research (JMMR) and Program Chair for the Mixed Methods Research Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association. In 2011, she co-led the development of Best Practices for Mixed Methods in the Health Sciences for the National Institutes of Health Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research. Her teaching focuses on foundations of research methodologies and mixed methods research, including a two-semester mixed methods sequence and special topics courses. She also engages in research and evaluation projects on a wide array of topics such as the management of cancer pain, researchers’ development of visual displays, the effectiveness of school reform initiatives, the quality of communication between attorneys and their clients, and the development of innovative curricular materials for undergraduate physics.

Nataliya V. Ivankova (Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln; M.P.H., University of Alabama at Birmingham) holds a dual appointment as Professor in the Department of Health Services Administration (School of Health Professions) and the Department of Acute, Chronic and Continuing Care (School of Nursing) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is internationally recognized for her scholarly publications addressing empirical and methodological aspects of qualitative and mixed methods research and her authorship of two books (Mixed Methods Applications in Action Research: From Methods to Community Action, 2015, Sage; and Mixed Methods Research: A Guide to the Field, 2016, Sage, co-authored with Vicki Plano Clark). As an applied mixed methods methodologist working at the intersection of mixed methods, qualitative, community-based and translational research, Nataliya teaches advanced level courses in mixed methods and qualitative research, mentors doctoral students, post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty, and serves as a key personnel on funded projects across disciplines. She also directs a graduate certificate program in Applications of Mixed Methods Research. Nataliya is a founding Co-editor of the Mixed Methods Research Series (Sage) and serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Mixed Methods Research and Qualitative Research Editor for the American Journal of Health Behavior. She also provided leadership to a Special Interest Group Mixed Methods Research, Division D Measurements and Research Methodology section Multimethod and Mixed Methods Research with American Educational Research Association (AERA), and to the Mixed Methods International Research Association (MMIRA).